Sub. H.B. 7

127th General Assembly

(S. Health, Human Services, and Aging)

In the provision eliminating the need for a parent's consent to the adoption of a minor on the ground that the parent failed to communicate with or support the minor for one year:

(1) Raises the burden of proof to a clear and convincing evidence standard;

(2) Replaces the House amendments requiring the parent to fail to regularly communicate with the minor with a requirement that the parent fail to provide more than de minimis contact with the minor;

(3) Eliminates the House's amendments to the provision relating to the parent's failure to provide for the maintenance and support of the child.

Requires the clerk of courts to send a notice to a parent who is alleged in an adoption petition to have failed without justifiable cause to provide more than de minimis contact with the minor or to provide for the maintenance and support of the minor, with statutorily specified language stating the legal effect of the adoption, if granted, and the parent's right to contest the adoption.

Clarifies the definition of "nonidentifying information" as it relates to birth parents and adoptive parents.

Authorizes an agency, attorney, person, or other governmental entity to, on a case-by-case basis, classify any nonidentifying information relating to an adoptive parent as identifying information and deny a request made for that information if the information could lead to the identification of the adoptive parent.

Expands the training required for public children services agency caseworkers to include courses with content including permanency strategies and concurrent planning and removes the provision expanding the training for public children services agency supervisors.

Decreases from 12 to 6 months the amount of time a child must reside with a foster caregiver before the foster caregiver may apply to adopt the child.

Further, extends to June 1, 2009, the date by which the Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services must adopt rules specifying the manner in which a home study is to be conducted and the procedure under which a person may appeal an adoption application that has been denied.

Extends to December 31, 2009, the date the Child-Centered Recruitment Task Force must disseminate the model based on information it has gathered.

H0007-127.doc/ss 12/15/08